Tumbling Through Darkness
by The Shadeling
Summary: The Enterprise is ordered to transport Khan to a prison in the far reaches of The Federation. When Khan's cryo-pod malfunctions, Spock is forced to eject himself and the Augmented criminal into space to keep him from destroying the ship. What happens when you're tumbling through darkness with a madman? Post Into Darkness. WARNlNG: MAY TURN INTO M WITH RAPE/NON CON. Spock/Khan
1. Chapter 1

Kirk and Spock marched down the narrow Starfleet hallway, Kirk fuming, Spock quietly bemused.

"I can't believe this," Kirk seethed for the seventh time since leaving the Admiral's office. "They can't do this."

"Technically speaking, they can," Spock corrected. "It's unorthodox but there is precedent."

"Come on, Spock, that's thin and you know it." Kirk gestured angrily. "We're supposed to be traveling, exploring. We're not a prison transport."

"The _Enterprise_ is fully equipped with a brig, several cargo bays, as well as the medical bay. There is more than enough room and security to house one cryogenically-imprisoned man, even one such as Khan."

"That's not the point! We shouldn't even be transporting that lunatic after everything he did to us."

"Our ship is the newest and most advanced of Starfleet's ships. Our crew is made up of the most elite and most brilliant men and women in the galaxy and we have had first-hand experience with Khan's abilities. These factors make us the most logical choice for the transport." Spock said this all rationally and calmly. He knew that Kirk was fully aware of the reasons they were chosen. The Captain might even agree, deep down. However, Kirk being Kirk, he simply couldn't accept reason and remained fixated on his emotional response.

Kirk rolled his eyes and grumbled but didn't respond. Technically speaking, the mission was short, even easy. Deliver one sleeping criminal to a remote prison on the edge of Starfleet territory, sign him off, and done. Easy-peasy. But why did it have to be Khan? Just the idea of having the Augmented mad-man on his ship, even incapacitated, set his teeth on edge.

"I don't like it," Kirk growled.

Spock glanced over at the Captain. "Did I imply that I was happy with the situation, Kirk?"

Kirk was silent, scowling darkly.

"On the bright side, accomplishing this mission will please the Admiralty. They might even take some of your restrictions off."

Kirk brightened visibly at that. Spock knew that he chafed under Starfleet Regulations, and the added restrictions, an after-though punishment from the Admiralty for ignoring the Regulations, practically made him "stir crazy", a term explained to him by Dr. McCoy.

"At least it's something new, not this patrolling nonsense."

Spock smiled quietly in response.

The docking bay of the _USS Enterprise_ was somber that evening. Three times the usual number of security officers in dark red uniforms stood ready at attention, weapons cocked. Technicians waited in tense silence. Kirk and Spock stood by. All eyes were on the large, double doors, waiting.

There was a loud clunk and whirring, then the doors slowly began to open. Every spine stiffened, guns were held tighter. A sharp, keening alarm blared and red lights pulsed, adding to the tension in the room. As the doors opened, a long truck slowly backed into the bay, amid the cacophony of alarms and silent protestations. The truck moved back and the doors closed. The alarms stopped and the following silence weighed oppressively on the group assembled. Ghosts of those killed in the battle against Marcus, Khan, and the _USS Vengeance_ seemed to hover nearby, haunting.

The truck stopped.

There were a few moments of stillness. Then, the driver opened his door, came out of the vehicle and approached the group briskly.

"Captain James Kirk?" He called.

Kirk strode forward, Spock following behind. "I'm the Captain." He gestured at Spock, "This is my first-mate, Commander Spock." Spock simply nodded in acknowledgement.

The driver pulled at a data pad and handed it to Kirk. "I just need your signature at the bottom, stating that the prisoner was delivered and freeing us from liability in the event of his escape, however unlikely."

Kirk took the pad, reading over the warranty quickly. "Alright, let's go get our prisoner."

The driver turned and approached the truck. Sliding open a small panel, he typed in a quick code and stood aside as, with a rush of air, the back of the truck detached and slowly slid to the ground, forming a ramp. Kirk and Spock stepped into the truck cautiously. They approached the long tube, apprehensively. Together, they looked down through the glass at Khan's sharp face.

"Well," Kirk said after a few moments of tense, awkward silence. "It's definitely him."

"Indeed," Spock replied.

Kirk signed the data pad and handed it back to the driver who in turn pocketed it and pressed a button on the side of the cryo chamber. The cocoon whirred with activity and slowly hovered into the air. Two security officers came up and started guiding the sleeping criminal away. Kirk and Spock stood together.

"So, once again, the most dangerous man of the universe is on board my ship," Kirk remarked.

"Hopefully, this will be a smoother trip."

"If we're lucky."

"I don't believe in luck."


	2. Chapter 2

**I apologize in advance for any misinterpretation of the Star Trek universe. My knowledge of Star Trek is limited to The Next Generation and the alternate universe movies and anything I can glean from Memory Alpha, so I'm taking very liberal measures with my creation. If you have a note that is helpful or if I put the wrong planet in the wrong galaxy or something like that, please leave me a review and I will fix it as soon as I'm able. **

Chapter Two

The USS _Enterprise_ bustled with quiet, precise activity. Even the presence of a murderous criminal aboard couldn't disrupt the routines and habits of the crew. Engineers monitored the _Enterpise_'s systems with as much care as a mother tending her child, for they knew that every soul aboard the _Enterprise_ was in their hands alone. It was their responsibility to keep everything in working order and ready for action. Not even the Captain, who would and had died for his ship, could keep her sailing if the worst should happen. So, naturally, there was great pride among the engineers who could single-handedly prevent catastrophe. Even when they hadn't necessarily earned the pride, much to the frustration of Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott. If he had a dollar for every time some jumped-up recruit, out of some twisted mixture of over-confidence and ass-kissing, nearly took out power to the entire ship or bumped into some switch that forced the oxygen that flowed through the lungs of all the human aboard to turn to carbon dioxide, the Scotsman would have enough money to build a new _Enterprise_….twice. It was with that attitude that Scotty faced his three new trainees, arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"Alright, listen up, you lot. I'm the Chief Engineer of this ship. That means any word I say is the word of God to you. That means if I tell you to dangle off the railings by your toes, you'd best start your stretches, cuz that's what you're going to do. This is not a toy; this is the USS _Enterprise_ and there are over a thousand people on this ship counting on you to survive. That means, if you screw up, you could kill every single person aboard, from the newest recruit," he gave them a pointed look, "to the Captain himself. So, until I'm satisfied you're competent enough to manage systems without blowing something up, you will not touch anything without my or Pavel Chekov's permission. Do I make myself clear?"

Two of the recruits, a set of twins who looked like they'd be more at home in a library than aboard an actually star ship, nodded anxiously, eyeing the blinking lights and gauges like they were rabid animals. The twins, Marcus and Isadora Walker, were identical except for the length of their nearly white-blonde hair. They were supposedly among the top five percent of their graduating class. Supposedly experts of the theory of engineering, neither of them had ever set foot on a real, working star ship before. Their comrade, however, was a lad as arrogant as the Captain without the near-genius to back it up. The lad, Andrew Jackson, was the top engineering graduate Starfleet Academy had to offer and seemed to believe that he deserved to have everything handed to him, whether it was the title of being the brightest graduate or a spot aboard the beloved _Enterprise,_ a feeling fostered by the fact that his father was one of the richest men on Earth. Scotty had the feeling that he might end up punching the boy's smug smile to a pulp.

"So, what are we supposed to do, then?" Jackson quipped with a bored tone.

Scotty fixed him with a steely glare. "Observe. Watch how our senior engineers react to stats. Or better yet, watch Chekov's every move. He knows more about engineering and this ship than anyone alive, excluding myself, of course. Ask questions if you don't understand anything. I'd rather you felt foolish for a moment than jeopardize the crew because your pride wouldn't allow you to learn."

"If I'd known that this position would entail babysitting a boy who can't even drink," Jackson sneered, "I'd have taken up a job with more…panache than working on a Starfleet vessel."

Scotty bristled. "Well, it's too bad we're out of Earth's orbit then, isn't it? Any closer, and I would've beamed you back down in a heartbeat, pup. If I were you, I'd check that attitude before Commander Spock gets ahold of you, else you'll be in for it."

"Scotty! We're pulling back to Warp 4," Pavel Chekov's cheerful accent rang above them as the Russian teenager darted between panels, eagerly absorbing data like it was precious air.

"Right. You two," Scotty gestured at the twins, "go follow Keenser around, he should be running checks on the warp drive if we're slowing down. Make sure he stays off the equipment too. You, observe that team's work over there. Quietly, if you can manage." Scotty left the group, muttering to himself about recruits and the idiocy of Starfleet. "Chekov, report."

"We are entering the Beta Quadrant. ETA to the Blue Planet: approximately three hours."

"Good work, lad. Let's keep her steady now. Don't want to alert any Klingons."

The Federation had decided that the best place to imprison Khan would be far, far away from most Federation colonies. They found a gas giant orbited by three moons on the edge between Federation and Klingon territory that would suffice and a prison was built on the third moon specifically for the holding of the Augment. The Klingons, of course, had no idea that a criminal that had escaped their grasp only months before would be sleeping right under their noses. So, it was important that they crept in, dumped the villain, and crept out before the Klingons noticed a Federation ship skulking along their borders.

Security officers patrolled the brig, a dour lot let by one officer Hendorff, although fellow officers had taken to calling him Cupcake behind his back. Hendorff had been among the original security detail assigned to Khan so Kirk had placed him in charge of securing the criminal on the way to his prison.

Khan was being kept in the most remote section of the brig, his cryo pod locked inside a room barred by not one, not two, but three doors, all of which required several forms of an _Enterprise _officer's DNA, and only those ranking above Lieutenant could unlock the doors: namely, Commander Spock and Captain Kirk. The cell was constantly monitored by at least six security officers, which were rotated in groups of two every two hours, as well as several cameras, which streamed directly to Security and Engineering. Top engineers monitored the Augment's vital signs as well as the systems in control of the cell. In case of extreme emergency, the cell could be detached from the ship and ejected into space. Needless to say, Hendorff was confident that Khan was going nowhere.

"What are those systems for?" Pavel sighed a little at the question, it being the tenth of its nature to come out of the female half of the Walker duo. At some point in time, the twins had become separated and Isadora had glommed herself onto Pavel with the determinedness of a nanny goat.

"This monitors our position in space. Right now, we are just inside the Beta Quadrant, about two hours away from our destination."

"And what about that one? With the strange readings?"

Pavel followed her finger and scowled. "That is monitoring Khan's cryo pod. The readings are strange because the man himself is not an ordinary man. His body reacts differently to stimuli than ours does, so his vitals read a bit differently as well."

"Shouldn't the cryo temperature be lower than? If his body reacts differently, than perhaps it should be colder to make sure he stays, you know, frozen."

"We're already keeping him at the lowest legal temperature allowed. Much lower and we risk killing him…or being charged with inhumane conduct."

"Shouldn't the safety of the crew come before the safety of a murderer?"

Pavel turned around and gave the girl a stern look, rarely seen on the normally jovial lad. "It is not my place to question the law. It is not yours either, Ensign Walker."

Ensign Walker flushed slightly, mumbling an apology. Pavel turned back to his screen. Tapping his fingers along the controls carefully, the screen displaying Khan cryo stats disappeared, images of the warp drive and engine replacing them.

"The engine is running a little hot," he murmured to himself, the woman forgotten.

Kirk sat in the Captain's chair on the bridge, Spock standing before him. Before them, the blue planet drew steadily closer. The bridge was tenser than usual, both from travelling in what was nearly hostile territory and from the madman in the brig. They were less than an hour away from their destination.

"Spock, start the preparations for disembarkment. I want that animal off my ship as quickly as possible."

"Yes, Captain."

Spock left the bridge, standing stoically all the way down to the brig. He nodded politely towards the security officers standing guard.

"Lieutenants." The six men nodded in return, shifting their weight anxiously.

The Vulcan Commander approached the first door. He placed his hand on a scanner and spoke precisely, "Commander Spock of the USS _Enterprise_, year 2260." The scanner lit up and hummed along his palm and there was a quick stab to each of his fingertips as the computer processed his handprint and genetic code. There was a quiet beep as the data was received and accepted and the first door slowly slid open, followed by the second and third. The six humans and lone Vulcan entered the cell cautiously. With quick efficient movements, Spock activated the hover panels of the cryo pod. The machine came to life, hovering a few inches off the floor.

"Gentlemen. Prepare to disembark."

"Yes, sir." The six men echoed each other.

The _Enterprise_ suddenly lurched to the side as the sound of enemy photons screamed through space. Kirk was thrown bodily out of his chair, as well as most officers and technicians hovering over screens. The ship exploded into action, as engineers frantically ran to their stations, shouting orders and data.

Kirk pulled himself up. "Everyone to battle stations. Sulu, pull us around, figure out what hit us. Uhura, open up communications. Send word to Starfleet: we've been attacked."

The _Enterprise _swiveled around like a drunken dancer and came face to face with a Klingon battleship.

"Guess they figured it out, Captain," Uhura muttered darkly as she tried to patch through to Starfleet. "Mayday, Mayday, this is the USS _Enterprise_, NCC-1701. We're under attack by Klingon forces, our mission is compromised."

"Spock! Spock, do you read me?"

"I'm here, Captain."

"The Klingons caught us. What's the status on Khan?"

"Stable, for now, Captain."

"Sulu, prepare torpedoes. Pavel, prepare evasive maneuvers."

"Aye, Captain."

Red torpedoes fired between the two ships as Pavel carefully danced the ship out of the way. More than once, though, his timing was just slightly off and the _Enterprise_ was hit, once on her underbelly, and twice along the helm.

"Fire!" Kirk yelled above the chaos and the torpedoes zoomed away, detonating around the Klingon ship's precious engine. The black ship dipped dangerously low before another torpedo hit the mark. The ship exploded in a fiery miasma that was quickly smothered by the tight grasp of deep space. The crew cheered as the fire disappeared and debris floated away. Kirk grinned as sweat dripped down his face.

"That wasn't so bad," he breathed, his death grip on his chair starting to ease. Uhura glared at him as she started another message to Starfleet.

"Captain!" Scotty's voice came through the speakers, urgency clear in his voice.

"Scotty, what's the problem?"

"It's the cryo-control, sir. It was damaged in the firefight. The cryo system is failing. Khan is waking up."

"No." Kirk whispered as the blood drained from his face.

Spock pulled himself off the floor, looking around him in alarm. The other six men were still on the ground in various stages of consciousness. One man had a trickle of blood streaming from his face. He rushed over to the cryo pod, which was making disturbing beeping sounds. Spock ran his long fingers over the panels, trying to stabilize the failing pressure, but it was no use. The temperature inside the pod was steadily rising and the man within was starting to move.

"Get out of here," he hissed at the men struggling to get to their feet. They blinked at him dazedly. "Get out," he shouted as Khan's clear blue eyes opened. The glass panel cracked as the Augment snarled and beat at the container. Spock swore under his breath as he ran to the men and helped them lift their wounded comrade. "Get moving. McCoy, we have an injured man coming your way."

"Yeah, you and the rest of the ship," the doctor responded acidly.

The sound of shattering glass forced Spock to turn around and his eyes widened at the sight of Khan's long body forcing itself out of the cryo pod. Spock shoved the last security officer out of the cell and shouted. "Initiate quarantine procedure, effective immediately."

The computer beeped and whirred as the doors started to close.

"No," Khan snarled as he lunged for the Vulcan. Spock dodged him easily, pulling out his phaser. He fired as he continued the order. "Prepare for ejection."

The phaser struck Khan in the shoulder, who hissed and backed away for a moment before jumping at Spock again. This time, Khan was faster, his body recovering from the disorientation of waking from cryo-sleep. The Augment was able to knock the phaser from Spock's hand. Spock countered with a solid punch to the jaw, followed by a kick to his enemy's knee. The first door clanked shut and the computer's feminine voice intoned, "Ejection protocol readied."

"Eject. Eject now." Spock grunted as Khan's elbow met with his chest.

"Spock, no!" The last thing Spock heard before the cell detached from the _Enterprise_ was the voice of his one and only friend. _Goodbye, Kirk. Goodbye, Nyota._

**Sorry about the wait, by the way. Every time I went to write this chapter, my brain froze up and I had a devil of a time trying to figure out how this chapter would go. So, hopefully updates will be a little more frequent now. I found the planet I used for Khan's intended prison on Memory Alpha. Apparently, in Star Trek: Enterprise, this is where Augments dumped a ship and it's crew to throw the **_**Enterprise**_** off their tail, so I thought it was a fitting place to try and imprison the most famous Augment, Khan. I hope you enjoyed it and please leave me a review, especially if I've made a logistical or canonical mistake. I'm trying to be as exact as possible to the alternate universe.**


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